The Distressed Sleeper
by CJMiles
Summary: When Zoro is assigned to look after the ship and unwell Robin, he regrettably falls into a deep sleep and wakes up to a surprise. This eventually effects Zoro mentally and causes him to act rather strangely.
1. Regrettable Nap

**Chapter 1: Regrettable Nap**

As the start of another day arrived and everybody had finished getting ready, I positioned myself in my usual sleeping place on the deck. The rest of the crew planned to go shopping on the island we were stationed at and, as per usual, I had to keep guard to look after Sunny.

As everyone waved goodbye and climbed off board, I swiftly opened one of my eyes and noticed Robin was still standing on board, staring down at the leaving pirates. "Oi, Robin. Why aren't you going with them?" As she turned around to face me, I could tell that there was something wrong by the deep red flush on her cheeks. Robin had been like that for a couple of days. She softly replied "I don't feel too good actually, so I think it would be best if I stay on board."

Whilst Robin walked off to fetch some books to read on deck, I heard an obnoxious sound coming from below. "HEY ZORO! YOU BETTER LOOK AFTER ROBIN-CHAN OR YOU'LL GET IT FROM ME LATER!" the stupid cook shouted. I hated having to deal with things like this whilst in the middle of trying to take a nap.

But to my surprise, Robin was able to tell how I felt when she came back with a stack of books. "Don't worry Kenshi-san, you won't have to worry about me. I'll be fine." These words relieved me as I felt like I could finally sleep in peace without any hassle. Moments where I could rest with Robin in front of me satisfied my mind. Her fragrance floated my way as I breathed in the sweet musk. This made me feel rather tired and quickly after, I fell into a deep sleep.

I was suddenly awoken by a smack on the top of my head. I jumped up in shock to find some of the crew surrounding me. I suddenly snapped "WHO THE HECK DID THAT?!" but then I realised everybody looked deadly serious, and very angry. I scanned my surroundings and tried to figure out what might have been the problem. "Did I miss something?" I asked. Another hit came flying towards my way from Nami as I crashed into the side of the boat.

What the heck was going on? I became very irritated and demanded an explanation. "IT'S YOU THAT NEEDS TO GIVE US AN EXPLANATION!" shouted Sanji. "You were supposed to look after Robin-chan!" My eyes suddenly widened. "What happened to her?!" I snapped. "Oh, so now you care, you stupid marimo!" "You've done it now, stupid cook!" I was then hit a third time with Sanji. "Guys, this is not the time to be fighting, Robin needs us right now!" shouted Nami. Then, without any warning, Luffy abruptly burst through the cabin doors and proclaimed "ROBIN IS GOING TO LIVE!" Robin was dying?

I had enough of being confused. I slammed the doors open and found myself through to Chopper's room where I found himself, Robin and the others. Robin was lying in a bed, looking very pale. The other crew members also did, but with worry. "Hey Chopper, please explain to me what is going on." I asked. Chopper stopped examining Robin, turned to me with a small smile and said "She has the flu. Her lungs have weakened dramatically and she is having a hard time breathing. But don't worry, I managed to save her." My mouth opened in shock. I tried to come out with something but I was quickly cut off. "I-I'm sorry, Zoro. I thought I was fine, by I underestimated the illness." Robin quietly said. I frowned at her words and bluntly stated "No Robin. I should have been looking after you. I lack in care. I promise I won't let it happen again."


	2. Her Calming Presence

**Chapter 2: Her Calming Presence**

The sick feeling of guilt was still in my stomach when I woke up the next day in my messy bed. I turned to my side and thought over what had happened yesterday. I didn't want to make another mistake, so instead of falling asleep again, I decided to do some training.

When I finished contemplating to myself and getting ready for my training, I climbed to the back of the boat and grabbed my heavy weights. As I got into the flow of lifting the huge metal piece up and down, I started to subconsciously think about Robin again. She had been in my head all morning. I knew that what I did to her was wrong, but that woman didn't belong in my head. I tried to shake her out of my mind by making the weights I was working with heavier.

I expected the crew to go out again and get some supplies, but they all stayed on deck. I assumed that it was to make sure I didn't neglect Robin again. This made me mad as I picked up the speed in my workout. I didn't want to be a burden, heck, all I did was fall asleep. Even though most of it was my fault, Robin did tell me that she would be fine. Without thinking straight, I dropped the heavy object on my feet and I cried out in pain. "Ha, you better be more careful next time, clumsy marimo." called Sanji. My eye winced at his dumb comment, but I decided to brush it off. Luffy and Usopp sniggered, tempting me even more to cut off all of their heads.

I grabbed my water bottle by the equipment and splashed it on my face to cool down my sweaty skin. I figured that I should take a break, bearing in mind I had been training for a couple of hours straight. That's when I realised that I had been thinking about Robin the whole time. This realisation shocked me.

I wanted to calm myself down, so I jumped down to the position I was in yesterday and closed my eyes to drift asleep. But to my astonishment, I just couldn't. I tried moving in different positions all over the ship, but nothing seemed to work. "Hey Zoro, what're you doing? That looks like fun!" Luffy shouted as I lay upside down against the ship wall. "I'm trying to sleep, that's all." "But usually you fall straight asleep." said Nami, looking strangely at my stance. The stupid cook then turned towards me and said "Maybe you've finally understood how dumb it is to fall asleep all the time due to the circumstances yesterday." "SHUT UP CURLY EYEBROWS!"

However, his comment gave Nami an idea that made her snigger. We all turned to her, wondering what an earth she was thinking, and how bad it might have been. After a while, she finally said to me "Zoro, come here for a minute." I frowned at her and replied "Why?" "BECAUSE I TOLD YOU TO, NOW DO IT!" I didn't want to risk my life, so I quickly walked over to her. She then grabbed my hand and directed me into the cabin. I was hurried into Chopper's room in which Robin had been left alone in to recover. Robin's eyes quickly opened as she heard our footsteps. She then said "H-hello, Nami-san, Kenshi-san. What are you doing here?" "I'd like to know the same thing." I said as I turned to Nami. Unexpectedly, I was then quickly tackled to the side of the wall by Robin's bed as Nami made me sit my usual sleeping position. Nami then dusted off her hands, smiled and said "There, you can sleep peacefully here." This was her idea?

"How is this going to help me sleep?!" I shouted. "You'll understand soon enough." she winked, leaving me and Robin confused. She left the room, leaving both of us in silence.

The quietness was then suddenly broken when Robin said "I hope you're not feeling guilty about yesterday Zoro." I hoped she couldn't tell I was. "O-Oh, well don't worry, I haven't been thinking about it much. Well, I have because I was worried about you, but only that." "He he," she giggled "well I've been thinking about you too." I suddenly felt my cheeks warm up as I heard this. I felt butterflies in my stomach for the first time in my life, and I was also very confused as to why I had started stuttering. I definitely needed to sleep. As we slowly finished our conversation, we both started drifting to sleep as I took in her sweet smell again. I felt calm and I was finally able to rest.


	3. Paranoid Dreaming

**Chapter 3: Paranoid Dreaming**

A week had gone by and Robin was finally free from the retched flu. I spent all of my days in Chopper's room to talk and sleep with her whilst she had to spent time fighting off the illness. The guilt I built up had finally subsided and our relationship seemed to have blossomed a lot since we spent so much time together. I never had trouble going to sleep, and I had the most bizarre, but lovely dreams. They were all of Robin. Usually it would consist of her posing and looking magnificent whilst cherry blossoms floated all around her. And what was more intriguing was the fact that I could always smell her lovely scent in my dreams.

My mind had seemed to have gotten used to my thoughts on Robin as it became second nature. I never thought about it really because it was pleasure for me to do so.

As I sat in my designated sleeping area admiring the sea and the deep blue sky, I saw Luffy and Franky run up to me. "Hey Zoro! We're gonna go out today to get some meat." Luffy said. "Okay, I presume you want me to look after the ship?" "Yes please!" Franky then looked at me seriously with sharp eyes and said "Make sure Sunny doesn't get sick." "IDIOT! THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" I shouted. Then they both looked at me and responded "That wasn't a joke." I was considering slicing them up right then and there. But at least they could trust me with the ship.

As they each said goodbye and climbed off board, the last one to get off was Robin. I quickly called to her "Hey Robin, be careful out there!" "WHAT ABOUT US!?" the rest of the crew called. Robin smiled at me before jumping down and said "I will Kenshi-san. Thank you."

By this time, hours had past and I suddenly realised that I wasn't going to sleep again. I didn't want to always depend on Robin's smell to help me fall asleep, but I was desperate for a nap. I walked up to Robin's usual place where she would read her books and picked up her coat. I brought it closer to my nostrils and sighed with relief. I felt like a pervert, but I didn't care. I went back to my position with the coat on me and I quickly dozed off to sleep.

But then, I suddenly found myself in the town that we were stationed at. Why the heck was I here? I looked around me and saw the crew. They were repeatedly asking me "Where's Robin?" I panicked and ran around the whole town. I couldn't see her anywhere. I felt like I was going to break down. But then I reached the other side of the town by the sea in which I saw Robin in the water, drowning. She screamed "SAVE ME ZORO!" I didn't hesitate for a second. I jumped in as fast as I could and then-

Splash. I found myself in the sea by Sunny. I quickly climbed up and came to my senses. It had been a dream, thank goodness. I must have fallen off the side of the boat in my sleep. I squeezed out the water in my clothes and sat down, feeling stupid. "At least the others haven't come back yet" I said out loud to myself, but I spoke to soon.

Luffy and the others climbed up on board and found me. I instantly stood up on my feet and shouted "Is Robin okay?!" Robin then gracefully climbed back on board and nodded at me in reply. I scratched the back of my head and realised that my outburst was a little over the top. "Why, were you worried?" Nami asked teasingly. "No, I just, had the feeling, I guess." I said, trying not to go red. They all sniggered to themselves. "What the heck happened to you swordsman?" Sanji asked, noticing my transparent clothes. I tried to come up with something quick. "Oh, well I thought I would do some swimming exercises." "Right… but in Robin-chan's coat?"

I looked down and realised that I was still wearing it. I embarrassingly took it off quickly without ripping it and handed it to Robin. "Ah, sorry Robin. I got cold." Robin smiled back at me with a beautiful glow in her eyes and said "Don't worry, it looked really cute on you." I blushed and the others giggled even more, apart from Sanji who was the tad jealous. "Well, never mind about that anymore," the cook said "I think we should all have something to eat." "MEEEAAAATTTTT!" Luffy screamed. As everybody excitedly piled into the kitchen apart from the less greedy ones, I walked up to Robin and whispered to her, without making eye contact "I'm glad you're okay." She then grabbed my hand squeezed it tight, showing her appreciation to my comment. We both then walked into the kitchen together, hand in hand.


	4. Drunken Clinger

**Chapter 4: Drunken Clinger**

After a week, I was still having bad dreams about Robin. She let me keep her coat at night so I could sleep well until I was able to rest without her smell, however, my dreams only got worse. They were always of Robin suffering, and gradually, I couldn't do anything about it. But even though it wasn't reality, I was even more determined to keep her from danger.

As a crew, we decided the night before that today would be the last day we spent at the island. They decided to spend the time in the town again, and this time, I was going. As everybody got together their stuff and waved off Sanji who was looking after Sunny instead, I grabbed Robins hand swiftly and said "Uh, make sure you stick close to me." "Okay Kenshi-san, there is no need to worry." she replied.

We all walked into town and went our separate ways to find different things for our specific interests, but I and Robin stayed in a pair. We each took it in turns to go in a different shop that we individually liked.

When we entered a book shop and Robin had found a collection that she wished to buy, I turned around and looked out the shop window to find that a collection of katana's were being sold. Robin noticed my attention towards it and said "You can go in there now if you want, the cue for purchasing is long anyway; so by the time I've bought these books, I can meet you in there." I was hesitant at first to do as she said, but I eventually gave in, otherwise she would have thought that I was obsessed with staying by her side like a pet.

When I approached the shop and looked through its stock, I just found a bunch of weak swords that were not up to my expectations. I sighed and made my way back to the book shop. But when I got there, Robin was nowhere to be seen. My head became twisted and I panicked, running out through the crowds looking in every single bookshop. I suddenly halted after a 10 minute search for her and came to the realisation that I had lost her. I then turned to my right and saw a pub. I knew that I wouldn't find her in there, but I really felt like having a drink after the state I was in.

I swigged down a few drinks and talked to strangers about Robin as they tried to stay away from my depressed aura. After a few hours, I stumbled outside and went to search for the rest of the crew to tell them that I had lost Robin forever.

As I sang down the road and searched wherever I could walk, I saw a straw hat. My head had trouble processing who it belonged to and I managed to bump into that person. "OI ZORO, LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" shouted Luffy, who happened to be walking with Chopper and Nami who had also found him. "Hmm?" I winced my eyes "Oh, Luffy! HA HA. It's been a long time ha ha ha! Oh by the way, I lost Robin. I AM SO SORRY." The others looked at me with idiocy as I balled over Luffy's trousers. He then sniggered for a minute and turned my head in the direction of a shop that had Robin and Franky in front of it. "Look Zoro, she's okay! I think you've had too much to drink." I didn't have time to reply to Luffy as I sprinted up to Robin and jumped on her like Sanji would. "ROBIN, YOU SURVIVED! I'M SO HAPPY. I'M SORRY I LET YOU GO. I'M AN IDIOT!" She laughed and picked me up, trying not to attract any more attention from the crowd. She then cupped my head and said "There was no need to worry Zoro. I think you should go back to the ship with me, okay?" I nodded like a trained puppy as I clang on to Robin's arm all the way back. She explained to me that in the book store, she wanted to change a few books for other ones, so she had to leave the cue and put the books back. If I wasn't drunk, I probably would have felt embarrassed and stupid that I had rushed off to look for her in such a hurry, but I was just so glad that I was next to an angel.

"What's up with Zoro?" Franky asked, as he walked behind us with Luffy, Chopper and Nami. "He probably drank too much over Robin." Nami giggled. "He's sure gotten attached to her." Chopper commented. Everyone nodded and stared at both of us as I stumbled whilst staring at Robin's beautiful face. As they watched me fawn over Robin and compared me with the likes of Sanji, they all came to the conclusion that I was obsessed.


	5. Time to Confess

**Chapter 5: Time to Confess**

It was a chilly day on Sunny when we left to visit the next unexpectedly wacky island. I sat by the comfortable tree on the ship and stared into space. Everybody was busy around the ship trying to amuse themselves by singing and fishing, but I couldn't get into it. My thoughts and feelings through the last few weeks have really messed up my head and I didn't feel like myself anymore.

I didn't have any memory of yesterday's events, but the crew told me about my embarrassing act, which put me off drinking for life. When everybody had settled down and got on with their own thing, I noticed Luffy sitting on the side of the boat tilting his head at me with a curious expression. I pretended not to notice because I wasn't in the mood to have a conversation. He eventually turned around, and went back to fishing with the others.

A few minutes later, Robin came out from the cabin and sat by me to read. I blushed slightly but tried not to think much of it. She pulled in closer to me to cuddle up, so I lent in closer and closed my eyes. But I still had one of my eyes slightly open towards the captain's way, because his actions were starting to bug me in a way which made me feel like he was planning something annoying.

He turned and whispered to Usopp, which snapped him to suddenly say "Robin, could we borrow your boyfriend for a minute?" What was he saying? I was assuming he was talking about me, and I turned to Robin to see her reaction. She had a smile on and replied gracefully "Sure, but you better give him back to me later." She then winked at the boys who were sniggering, leaving me with a mix of embarrassment, shock and happiness. I wondered if Robin really saw me as her lover.

But soon enough, I was whisked away into the crow's nest with everybody apart from Robin and Sanji. I stood there, confused and impatient. "So, what do you want then?" I let out with a sigh. With all eyes on me, they all said creepily at the same time "How do you feel towards Robin?" What the heck were they asking? I stepped back in hesitation, but I was stopped by Nami's hand pressuring my shoulder. "Well, aren't you going to tell us?" Nami asked with a spark in her eye.

I had a hard time coming up with an answer, but eventually said "I don't know." "YOU DON'T KNOW?!" they all screamed as their jaws dropped. "I don't mean to surprise you, but I'm… still trying to figure it out." I looked back at them with an angry expression "WHY THE HECK ARE WE EVEN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION?!" I spat viciously.

Luffy laughed quietly and astonishingly replied "Because you are confused Zoro. You've been acting like an idiot for the past couple of weeks towards Robin and we knew that something was strange." His insensitive answer irritated me, but he had a good point. Everybody abruptly sat down in a semi-circle as if they were getting ready to get really deep into the uncomfortable topic. I exhaled out my lack of understanding once again and sat down to join them unwillingly, wondering what I got myself into. "Tell us what you've felt these past weeks." Franky asked gently. "Well," I started "I've…" "Don't be embarrassed Zoro, it can't be as bad as how you've been acting!" Nami bluntly stated and she tried to push out my muddled words. I looked at her with a deathly glare.

"She's always on my mind." I said. "Whenever I see her, I… get nervous and I can't control my emotions anymore. I would usually stand up tall and fell strong; but when she's around, I become nervous and my strength is lost in her gaze." Everybody made "AWWW!" noises as I coughed to signal silence. "My dreams have recently been a problem as you're probably aware of, and they make me feel like I can't be without her. When I see her face my cheeks feel hot, I have a hard time speaking and my heart always feels like it's going too fast." They all looked at me with puppy eyes and stroked me like the drunk dog I was yesterday. "Okay, happy now?" I hissed. "I don't know why the heck I feel this way, but I-" "Zoro," I was cut off by Luffy. He smiled and proclaimed confidently "You're in love."

My mind went fuzzy as I tried to take this in. I never really thought about it before because I could never imagine myself being in love. It was an understandable explanation. I smirked and replied "Maybe you're right." Unexpectedly, everyone went in an uproar and started pilling on top of me, shouting "I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!" "I KNEW IT!" "CONFESS TO HER!"

As everyone eventually calmed down and I was granted the privilege to leave, Brooke pulled me to one side and asked "Have you seen her panties?" I smacked him on the head and stormed outside. "I've had enough." I mumbled.

As I climbed up the stairs to the front of the boat to cool off, I found Robin up there staring into the sky. She looked back to face me and asked "So, what did you talk about, Kenshi-san?" "Oh, nothing important… but could I, talk to you?" "Of course." I slowly walked over to Robin and leant at the side of the boat by her. When I finally gained courage to speak, I quietly said "I think I need to confess something." At this point, fireworks burst into the air. I assumed it was Franky's idea to set the mood, which annoyed me even more. Robin laughed at the sudden surprise and asked "What is it that you need to confess?" At first, I paused and looked away to get a good sense of what I should say first. Then, I started off saying "Every day for the past couple of weeks, you've been on my mind every single second." She looked at me with utter shock.

"You make my heart beat fast, my face turn red, and my speech stutter. You even make me feel this way in my dreams, and… I think it's because…" I paused again and tried to come out with my confession, but I was suddenly cut off. Robin gently grabbed my white top and pulled me in, locking our lips together. My eye's widened in shock. But I gradually embraced with the kiss and rapped my arms around her waist. When we finally separated and stared into each other's eyes, Robin lovingly said "I love you too, Zoro."

Loud screams came from the middle of Sunny as I realised that we were being spied on by everybody else. I smiled and tried not to care too much, because the main thing I was focused on at this point was her, Nico Robin.

Suddenly, we heard stomping coming from the stairs as we saw Sanji heading towards our way looking very angry. "ROBIN-CHWAN! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!" he asked with small tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry cook-san, but I'm in love with the greatest swordsman in the world." We then embraced once more as fireworks and more cheering filled the air. I was no longer distressed.


End file.
